Laplace
by B-Frame
Summary: The King of Bel is awake. Peaceful times are over, let's survive.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I've always wanted to do a Devil Survivor X Highschool DxD crossover. Dreams do come true after all.**

 **Devil Survivor Protagonist - Kazuya Minegishi**

* * *

When Kazuya first awoke, he was lying in bed. A rather comfortable bed but one that was not of his own. He hadn't slept in an actual bed since…

Kazuya frowned when he looked through his memories. It was all jumbled, mixed up and vague – It might've been amnesia for all he knew. Except it wasn't. He knew that his memories were there, he knew the basic outline of them all and he most certainly hasn't forgotten anything.

His name was Kazuya Minegishi. He is a seventeen years old human.

Kazuya frowned inwardly. That didn't sound quite right, or completely correct. It came to him naturally but the thought felt outdated in a way. Like that was in the past and didn't apply to him currently. He delved in his muddled memories further in hopes of finding the reason behind the odd feeling but found almost all details in his head far too vague to fully recall.

The most he could recall was that he was doing something of utmost important that he had been dedicating his life to before he fell asleep. He had someone – no, people on his side, supporting him for a cause he couldn't remember.

Kazuya decided to get up and slid off the bed to take a better look of the room he was in. White plastered walls greeted his eyes and the air was stale and dull. The room was sparse in furniture, only having the bed, a table and a chair to populate its space. It reminded Kazuya of a hospital.

It was when he felt a breeze that Kazuya noticed that he was more or less lacking any decency. Had someone been with him at the time, Kazuya would no doubt be very embarrassed. Except there was nobody but him, so thankfully that outcome was averted. He eventually managed to spot a set of clothes, or rather than someone had prepared the clothes for him judging by how they were neatly folded.

A black long-sleeved shirt, red pants with a belt strap and black shoes sat on the table. Atop of the pile of clothes was a pair of white headphones that were spiked on the back, almost resembling demon horns.

Demon.

Kazuya blinked. Demon, that was such a familiar term to him. No, that didn't describe it well enough. It was something more akin to making him feel more completed, presenting another piece of the puzzle to the big picture that was his muddled memories.

When he had finished changing into the clothes and put the headphones on, Kazuya spotted a small red and black device on the table.

'It must've been under these clothes,' He thought, picking up the device and flipping it open. Four buttons on the right and a plus shaped button on the left. The screen was dark and no amount of button pressing from Kazuya would switch it on.

A quick inspection of the device revealed that there was a port at the back. It reminded him of a charger port. Perhaps it just needed to recharge?

Kazuya tucked the device in his pants pocket. If he could recharge the device's battery, then there was the chance it could resolve his small little memory issues.

* * *

Kazuya had no idea where he was when he stepped out of the building – an abandoned hospital it turns out – and saw the skyscrapers in the sky. A familiar sight but with different buildings, and otherwise told Kazuya absolutely nothing. For a moment, Kazuya could see smoke emanating from buildings in various state of destruction but when he blinked again, there was no such sight nearby.

At least the park he wandered in was nice. Dare he say rather lovely.

On one of the benches in the park, there was a blonde girl dressed like a church nun, with the image completed by a pure white veil atop her head. Something about her disgusted Kazuya and for the briefest moment, he wanted to remove the offender from the plane of existence. He swallowed down the alien animosity and approached the girl.

"Do you know where I am?" He asked as politely as he could manage without letting his distaste slip into his tone.

Either the girl didn't notice or she was being nice, but her voice was of an irritating cheeriness that further grated his nerves. "Oh, are you new here too? So am I, I just recently transferred to this city you see. It's a really lovely city really, with so much to see and-"

"Where is this?" Kazuya repeated slowly, an edge in his tone now present.

"Oh right, sorry for talking so much. We're in Sunset Park. It's a really nice park, isn't it?" The nun answered.

Kazuya neglected to reply to her unnecessary comment. He gave the girl a nod of acknowledgement at her answer and turned to leave when she had called to him again.

"Excuse me, but I don't think we gave each other our names yet, have we?" The blonde noted and held out a hand, "My name is Asia Argento, I'm a nun of the Church."

He pondered if he should bother giving his name out to a complete stranger and eventually concluded that nothing significant would truly happen if he gave a mere name. "Kazuya Minegishi."

"Kazuya." She repeated before smiling back at the blue haired teenager, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kazuya."

"Likewise." Kazuya replied and glanced around, "What are you doing here anyway? This park doesn't look like it's got a church or stuff nearby."

"Ah, I'm waiting for my guides. There are to take me to the church I'm being transferred to." Asia explained, "I've been told to meet here and wait for them. How about you, Kazuya?"

"Woke up in an abandoned hospital and decided to take a nice walk outside."

Asia's expression morphed into one of worry, "Oh dear, are you feeling well? Are you ill?"

Kazuya nodded, smiling a little at Asia's concerns. "Perfectly fine. Don't remember why I was in a hospital of all places though."

"Maybe you were really hurt?" Asia suggested thoughtfully.

"Probably." Kazuya agreed, mostly out of the lack of ideas in his head.

Asia's suggestion did not feel too off from the truth, but it didn't feel like it was the truth either. Kazuya could vaguely remember that a fight was the cause of his slumber but who caused it was still a mystery. For all he knew, maybe he fought so hard to the point that he had to be sent to a hospital. Still doesn't explain why the building was abandoned though.

"In that case, perhaps would you like me to heal you?" Asia asked kindly, holding up her hands. Two silver rings adorned her middle fingers.

"How would you do that?" Kazuya asked with a puzzled frown, unable to understand the meaning behind Asia's gesture.

"I'm able to heal injuries as a Holy maiden of the Church." Asia explained patiently, inching her hands closer to Kazuya's.

Kazuya let Asia's hands grasp around his own and then the strangest thing happened. Green light gathered in Asia's hand and gradually transferred to Kazuya's own. The sensation was soothing, like a strain that Kazuya hadn't been quite aware about was lifted. Kazuya let out a relieved sigh as the sensation passed through him, almost not noticing Asia releasing his hands.

"Thanks Asia." He smiled at the blonde nun thankfully. "I think I needed that. Feel better now already."

"Then I'm glad to see you are feeling well." Asia smiled serenely at Kazuya before glancing over her shoulders. A flash of recognition crossed her eyes before she looked back at Kazuya, "Well then Kazuya, it's been a pleasure to meet you but my guides are here. May God bless you-"

The rest of the nun's words went unheard when Kazuya felt his head go fuzzy and static filling his hearing. Fortunately, the moment was short and fleeting, and Asia had not noticed what had transpired. Fighting down a scowl off his face, Kazuya bid his farewell to Asia and hurriedly left the park.

He didn't like one bit what had just happened earlier and he wasn't willing to stick around to find the reason for it either.

Kazuya found himself on the street later on. He managed to gather more information of his location, more than what that nun had told him.

The town he found himself in was Kuoh. It was not a big or small, somewhere in between. Schools existed in the town although the most prominent one was Kuoh Academy, a former all girls private schools that became co-ed. Kazuya briefly entertained the thought of applying there before shooting it down. He still had his jumbled memories to deal with.

The rest of his day had been exceptionally lucky. He came across an old apartment building run by an elderly woman. Said elderly woman all but demanded him to stay at an apartment once he revealed to her about his lack of residency and family.

Well he wasn't entirely sure about the latter but something in his head told him that he didn't have any family here.

Point is, he's got a roof over his head now and a very kind landlady. All he's missing is a job and Kazuya is all set for settlement.

Well he could figure the job part out later.

* * *

It had taken a while but Kazuya finally got himself a job as a convenience employee. Not the best job and also really laborious, however he finally had a way to pay back his landlady. She certainly waited long enough for him to get a job.

Another bright side was that Kazuya found the right charger for the strange device that he had found with his clothes. The device in question was called a COMP, a hybrid of a gaming console and a communicator. It was a popular device in the previous years before future technology overtook its place.

His COMP switched on after having its battery recharged. Unfortunately, either the COMP was damaged or its data was corrupted, because he could barely access most of the apps installed on it except the most basic ones. All of the emails in his inbox had been corrupted into indecipherable text so he couldn't trace back to the sender and hopefully get a reason behind his hospitalization.

Kazuya knew he wasn't human. The fact irritated him. He had tried attach himself to the title of human before finding that his very being rejected the notion. It was wrong, it was not him and most importantly, it was not who he is. But then if he wasn't human like the other people that he walked amongst, then what was he meant to be?

Something greater than humanity or something that wanted to be a human?

Whichever he was, he just wishes his memories would hurry and clear up.

Lately, things have been getting strange. He's not sure when exactly or perhaps it's been there all along, but the residents of Kuoh were all… odd. First there was that crossdressing magical girl fanatic guy Kazuya met on the train. Then there was also the black wings he could've swore he saw in people's shadows. The air had also started smelling strange too, in a way Kazuya couldn't quite describe. Not to mention the people who all looked at him strangely.

Some even tailed him for a while, but he always made sure to let them know that their presence hadn't gone unnoticed. Overall, Kazuya had no idea what was happening around him and he suspected that it wouldn't be long until he did.

He was right.

The revelation came in the form of one event, or more accurately a series of small events that'd make up one huge arc. It started when he saw Asia Argento again, in another park with a brown haired male that looked around Kazuya's age.

Correction, she was hanging out with the boy until a woman with black feathery wings appeared and demanded Asia to follow her. The boy hadn't taken her demands well and attempted to resist by summoning a strange red gauntlet on his arm.

He swung and flung his punches at the feathered lady, but none of them made contact with the woman. It was crude and clumsy, the way he 'fought'. It was no wonder why his fists only hit air where skin should've been. It made Kazuya cringe at the sight.

The woman struck back when the male slowed down in his assault. She slapped her hand over his face and the boy let out an agonizing scream, as the scent of burning flesh filled the air.

It was a scent that was familiar to Kazuya, yet something he still couldn't put his finger on.

"Stop! You're killing him, Raynare!" Asia screamed, flinging herself onto the leather clad woman. The woman hadn't budged an inch at the extra weight.

"And? What does it matter if I do?" The woman, Raynare asked airily.

"Please, I'll go back with you." Asia pleaded, pressing her face against Raynare harder, "I won't leave again. I'm begging you, just let Issei go."

"Don't… say… that..!" Issei, the boy hissed out from the pain of having his face burning. He swung his leg up, above Raynare's hip and forced her to loosen her grip enough for the boy to slip out of her grasp. "I said… she's not going… with you!"

Had he been in a better state to live up to his words, Kazuya might've applauded him for his courage. Apparently Issei had used up all of his strength because once he had finished uttering the last word, he crumpled to the ground as an unconscious bloody heap.

On another note, Issei had managed to agitate Raynare because the woman had the expression of a furious cow and a spear of light forming in one of her hand.

"This bastard…!"

"NO!" Asia screamed, positioning herself between Issei and Raynare with a pleading look, "Don't. Don't kill him."

If looks could kill, then Asia would've been killed many times over from the sheer glare Raynare had.

"He touched me," Raynare glowered fiercely, "He laid his filthy hands on me."

"Please, Miss Raynare," Asia begged, eyes glistening with tears. "I beg you to have mercy."

For a moment as Kazuya watched, Raynare looked like she was positively about to murder anyone nearby. His suspicion transformed to concern when he thought that she'd try eliminate both Asia and the unconscious Issei, when Raynare raised the spear in the air. However instead of flinging it into the soft flesh of the nun and the boy, Raynare stabbed the spear into the ground and forcibly exhaled out slowly.

"Heal him. Then we leave." Was all Raynare said with a tone of finality. She would accept no more favors from Asia.

"Thank you." Asia's voice wavered with fragileness that hadn't been present the last time Kazuya saw her. Then again, it wasn't like someone was on the brink on death nearby when they did.

Asia hurried over to Issei's side and the green glow returned to heal the burnt male, flesh reknitting to the healthy skin color.

It just occurred to Kazuya that the air smelled cleaner.

Without the overpowering scent of seared flesh, the air was fresh and clear, and all too easy to pick out the faint smell of rosemary and something else. Apparently the same applied to him.

Raynare snapped her head towards Kazuya's direction where he had hidden in the bushes once the fight went ugly. Her expression was a mixture of apprehension and anxiety.

"Who's there?!" She demanded loudly, startling Asia from healing Issei. A light spear formed In one of her hand, body poised to attack at the slightest movement. Kazuya held his breath in anticipation.

Seconds passed and nothing happened.

Raynare narrowed her eyes before hurling the light spear at a high speed into the bushes. The spear just barely flew over Kazuya's head, singing a few blue strands of his hair before landing somewhere further behind him and detonating.

"Get out of that sorry excuse of a hiding spot. You can't hide from me." Raynare demanded, summoning another light spear in her palm.

With no other options left, Kazuya crawled out of the bushes he was hidden in and approached the fearsome winged woman.

To his credit, Kazuya did not run. He knew the power Raynare wielded were anything but human. It was really hard to acknowledge such as human, especially when he had personally witnessed Raynare beat someone to near death without a hint of remorse.

Asia's eyes widened with fear when she noticed Kazuya's presence. "Kazuya, what are you doing here?"

"It doesn't matter what he was doing here. Most importantly, he's a witness." Raynare smiled cruelly at Kazuya, a light spear forming in her hand. "We can't possibly have that now, can we?"

Asia shrieked at the same as Raynare did, "Kazuya, run away!"

"Die for me, filthy human!" Raynare jeered in delight, hurling the spear at light speed towards Kazuya's direction.

Ordinary men would've cried and run away from the danger. It was mankind's instinct to fear the unknown and escape the danger it poses. The winged woman had no doubt that Kazuya would be the same as the other humans she had killed.

The problem was that Kazuya didn't feel quite as human anymore.

For a moment, an overbearing presence filled the air at the time the light spear left Raynare's grip. Eyes watched as the light spear that once radiated power, gradually dissipated into nothingness the closer it got to Kazuya, until there was nothing left of it by the time it got close to his chest.

Asia had shut her eyes tight in desperation, whispering prayers under her breath as she tried her best to survive under the suffocating pressure. Raynare gritted her teeth, fiery present on her face but unmasked fear in her eyes.

When the presence finally faded away from existence, did anyone dare to breathe in the same air again.

Beads of sweat dripped down Raynare's skin, her eyes staring at Kazuya with utter disbelief. "W-What are you..?!"

Kazuya paused, only staring at his hand with wide eyes.

"I said, what are you!?" Raynare screeched, shakily forming another light spear. "Answer me!"

Kazuya looked back up at Raynare's eyes and the woman fought down the urge to flinch. Behind the calm blue eyes that the human bore, was _something_ that terrified her very essence, her tainted Light. Something was hiding within Kazuya Minegishi that devoured the Light of Father itself.

"Raynare!" A man in a trench coat hurried over to Raynare's side and grabbed her arm roughly, which brought the woman back to reality. "We're leaving _now_!"

"Don't you order me around, weakling!" Raynare hissed back, having regain some of her nerves back and roughly grabbed Asia. In a flurry of wings, Raynare and Asia disappeared with only black feathers indicating their existence and shortly afterward, so did the man in the trench coat. All that was left in the park was Kazuya.

"Asia…"

Oh and the brunette too. Kazuya had actually forgotten him from all what's happened. Well, wasn't like the guy was conscious at the time too. Kazuya stared down at the brunette lying on the ground before taking his leave from the park.

What a day.

* * *

 _Inbox_

 _New Message_

 _Laplace Mail_

 _Good morning. Here is today's NEWS._

 _Around 17:00, a girl will be part of an ancient ritual in an abandoned Christian church in Kuoh. She will die as a result._

 _At around 17:30, a devil will die for saving a girl._

 _At around 18:00, the Overlord will rise once more._

 _Have a nice day._

* * *

 **Constructive criticism would be nice. Thank you for taking the time to read this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Chapter 2 has arrived in all its unbeta'd glory.**

 **To Avarize: That's not a constructive criticism man. That's a demand.**

 **Overlord Laharl: There is a reason why Kazuya cannot hear the Lord's name.**

 **Disclaimer: Highschool DxD and Devil Survivor being to their respective owners. This fiction belongs to me alone.**

 **EDITED: It has just come to my attention that the spell Lucifer used was not the one I intended.**

* * *

"Thank you for shopping here, have a nice day." Kazuya said for what seemed to be the umpteenth time to a leaving customer and sighed heavily.

Retail is a really exhausting job.

Still, it was a welcome to Kazuya when events of yesterday had not left his mind alone. He couldn't forget a single detail. The horror on Asia's face, the fearsome sneer of Raynare and the boy - what was that red glove he wielded?

Something told him that it wasn't just another fancy looking punching glove. Kazuya wasn't sure exactly what but he _knew_ that it was dangerous.

There was something awfully familiar about the glove too. Not in a closer sense like with how the word 'demon' felt attached to Kazuya, but more like he had seen it somewhere before. Kazuya inwardly sighed, he had another puzzle in his head to figure out with his muddled memories.

Videogames made recovering memories seem so much easier.

"Hey Minegishi, done over there?" His manager asked, approaching the teen and sliding an envelope over to him. "Here's your payment for today. You did alright."

"Thank you, sir." Kazuya said, exiting the store as quickly as he could. Once he was out, he peeked inside the envelope and grumbled to himself. Retail wasn't worth being paid for so little. The amount of human interaction was staggering.

He's definitely going to find another job.

With a click of his mp3, his headphones began to drown out the outside world for Kazuya, replacing it for music instead. Not the cheerful questionable songs that played on Kuoh's radio every morning. He'd never listen to that garbage again.

Events of yesterday ran through his head. That woman, Raynare. She most definitely wasn't human, especially since she had wings like a crow. She could also summon light spears that apparently could cause mass destruction.

Then there was that period. The time when everyone looked like the air had been sucked out of their lung and that they were suffocating on the spot. All but him were suffering it.

' _Maybe it doesn't affect humans?_ ' Kazuya assumed before shaking his head, ' _No, then Asia should've been fine too then._ '

His lips thinned into a grimace. That meant that something was very off about Kazuya himself. Not that he didn't have his suspicion earlier from when he awoke, but this only confirmed it. Kazuya either was immune to the previous sensation, or he was not the human he thought he was.

Kazuya had been lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed where he was going until he had collided with someone.

"Ah- Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was… going." Kazuya blinked, staring up at a familiar trench coat and then the face of its wearer. Kazuya has seen him before. In fact, it was just yesterday when he saw that face. "It's you again."

The fear on his face was still there.

The man' scrunched his face up in scrutiny. "I don't get it."

Well, Kazuya certainly wasn't expecting that question. "Um, excuse me?"

"I don't understand you." The man repeated, pointing a finger at Kazuya's chest. "You smell human, yet there's something very dark within you… Enough to be under heavy watch by the other Devils too."

"What do you mean?" Kazuya asked incredulously.

"Haven't you noticed being watched by others?" The man in the trench coat fired back with a raised brow. "I'd assume someone like you would at least notice that you were stalked by at least one Devil."

Well, Kazuya hadn't been certain about whether or not he was being stalked, especially by a Devil of all things but this had certainly explained the strange customers that loitered around near the convenience store during his shift. There was never more than one person loitering around, but after one left the store to go somewhere, another would take his place and so on.

Kazuya cursed inwardly. He should've noticed such an obvious detail and yet he completely dismissed it, thinking it had been something pointless.

"I did notice but I didn't think that they were watching me." Kazuya muttered sheepishly.

Understandably the man gave him a flat look. "You didn't think it was the least suspicious? At all?"

"Not really." The teen shrugged. "For all I knew, they could've really just been hanging around for their own reason." He paused and recalled something the man had said earlier. "Earlier you mentioned devils. Did you mean like a gang or the actual.. Devils?"

"… For someone who has a terrifying presence, you really are an ignorant lamb aren't you?" The man shook his head, heaving out a heavy sigh before smirking, "And to think I was afraid of you."

Kazuya had no idea why but getting called a lamb had grated on his nerves.

"Don't call me a lamb." He snapped, crossing his arms. "Why are you here anyway? You were with that woman earlier and Asia."

"Me? Well I'm here to, you know, scout you out to see what kind of being you are, evaluate how dangerous you are and finally, kill you so that you won't be a nuisance in the future." The man in the trench coat had said it all in a completely nonchalant and cheery tone that Kazuya had thought the man was being sarcastic.

Kazuya stopped thinking that when all the sudden his entire body started hurting and his vision gradually blurring. His legs gave out under him and the last thing he could make out was the man in the trench coat picking him up and whispering words he could just barely hear.

"Nothing personal, lamb."

* * *

When Kazuya returned to the realm of the living, he noticed three things.

One, he was on the ground.

Two, something heavy was on his wrists.

Three, four people stood before him in all of their winged glory.

Kazuya recognized Raynare and the man in the trench coat. The other two, a blue haired woman dressed in a red outfit and a blonde girl wearing a black Gothic Lolita dress.

"So Dohnaseek, instead of outright murdering him on the street like we had planned earlier, you decided to bring him inside our base and let him stink up the place with his stench?" Raynare stared unamusedly at the man in the trench coat, her arms folded to emphasize her displeasure.

"I saw capturing him was a much better option than simply killing him, that's all." Dohnaseek explained, gesturing to Kazuya. "Besides, surely what I've told you earlier is enough to explain why it's more beneficial to keep him alive rather than eliminating him."

"Why are you guys making such a huge fuss about him anyway?" The Lolita girl questioned with a frown, "He's just a human. He doesn't even have a Sacred Gear in him."

"I have to agree with Miltelt. I don't understand why are you two concerned over one human." The blue haired woman piped up.

"Because Miltelt, Kalawarner, neither of you two were there at the park when we felt his essence." Dohnaseek started, waving his hands in the air wildly as he tried to emulate what he had felt that time. "It was just for a moment but I felt it. Raynare felt it. I'm certain you have all felt just a fraction of it when it briefly appeared. The intense presence, the suffocating atmosphere from its very presence and the darkness that lingered – they're the signs of a filthy underworld creature."

He paused, adding weight to his words. "Yet none of the devils we've met in our long life had ever exuded such an energy before. A darkness possibly greater than a higher class devil."

Kazuya had no idea that Dohnaseek was such a drama queen.

"So then why're we keeping someone like that in here?" Kalawarner inquired with a raised brow. "Why haven't we already eliminated him yet then?"

"That's what I was asking him." Raynare said with a huff. "I believe your orders were to scout, evaluate and eliminate. If you can't fulfill such simple orders, then why are you even still here?"

"Because I don't trust myself to be able to destroy it." Dohnaseek answered with a serious tone, frowning slightly. "You felt it. We all felt it. Even if you weren't up close to feel the brunt of it, you can tell that we cannot deal with this darkness with just one Fallen Angel." He turned to look at Raynare, "Raynare, do you recall what happened when you attempted to destroy him yourself?"

"Of course, I do." Raynare hissed, glaring down at Kazuya. "He brushed aside my light spear before it could shred his heart."

"And considering how powerful you are Raynare, did you honestly think I'd fare any better?" Dohnaseek said unabashedly. "You want him to be killed? Then we're doing it this way. All at once. He won't be able to ignore all of our spears."

Miltelt frowned at Dohnaseek and turned her gaze down at Kazuya. She walked up close to the teenager, inspecting him up close.

"What?" Kazuya couldn't help but blurt out anxiously.

Within a second, Miltelt had summoned a light spear and drove it through Kazuya's stomach. Blood splashed out from the inflicted wound and Kazuya threw up a mouthful of blood.

The other Fallen Angel watched in sick fascination when the deed had been done and look up at Miltelt who was smiling triumphantly.

"Your spear can hurt him?" Raynare murmured to herself quietly.

"You guys worry too much. Why bother throwing everything when you can just-" Miltelt summoned another spear and drove it through Kazuya's thigh, eliciting a pained gasp from the blue haired teen. "- do this?"

Kalawarner turned to face Dohnaseek who looked surprise. "Well it seemed you have wasted our time creating a fuss over a _human_."

"No no, he's not human." Dohnaseek shook his head, running fingers through his hair. "I saw it, Raynare saw it – her light spear disappeared before it could hurt him and now how can Miltelt hurt him? She's weaker than Raynare!"

"Or maybe Raynare's gotten weaker." Miltelt supplied teasingly but flinched under Raynare's glare.

"Don't ever think that. You know perfectly well that I can crush you before you know it, Miltelt." Raynare glowered at the girl.

Miltelt's face twisted to an ugly frown but she remained silent. Raynare was right, Miltelt is admittedly weaker than Raynare by a margin but no way in hell would the Fallen Angel admit that.

"This was rather anticlimactic. Still, it's better than us needing to expend our magic reserves so early." Kalawarner said.

Kazuya shut his eyes tight, trying to withhold the noise crawling out in his throat while unconsciously curling his body up from the agonizing pain. The spear in his stomach hurts so much. Tears were pricking at the corners of his eyes.

This was it.

Kazuya was going to die before he could fix his distorted memories. He thought he would at least learn something about himself that lead him to the hospital before dying, but apparently not.

In the midst of his pain, Kazuya had almost not noticed the ground shaking vigorously, an explosion occurring from somewhere above him that was strong enough to make the earth shake.

"Wh-What? What was that?" Miltelt demanded, glancing around nervously.

Raynare narrowed her eyes up at the ceiling and her smile grew wide. "It seems that we have some stray devils breaking in, and that stupid exorcist is failing at his job." The black haired woman glanced at Kalawarner. "Is the ritual ready?"

Kalawarner nodded, "Yes. Twilight Healing is ready to be extracted from the human girl." She briefly looked down at Kazuya's curled form. "What should be done about him?"

"Leave him. He'll die anyway." Raynare answered flippantly, turning around to leave the soon-to-be corpse. "I'm certain none of the devils here are capable of reviving him anyway, nor would they bother."

With that said, all the Fallen Angels in the room abandoned Kazuya to his demise.

* * *

This had to be the most Issei has ever ran in his entire life.

Even more than the time he peeped into the Kendo club's changing room and was hounded by more than half of the entire school's population, which was saying something. It was only thanks to his reincarnation into a devil that he had a significantly higher stamina and didn't show up to the abandoned church exhausted.

Beside him were Kiba and Koneko. The two of them had agreed to follow Issei on his quest to save Asia, mostly to ensure that the brunette wouldn't get himself killed in the process.

Issei could barely keep the snarl off his face when they arrived at the church. Something about the place simply repulsed him but he couldn't figure out what.

"Issei?" Koneko's quiet voice called him from the side, an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"I'm fine." Issei replied, exhaling slowly. "Just something bothers me about this place."

"It's the holy aura, Issei." Kiba explained from his other side. "Most churches have them naturally, but it's unnaturally strong here, especially since this church has been abandoned for a very long time. We're Devils, so we instinctively feel uncomfortable in the presence of the holiness." He flashed a reassuring smile to Issei, "Don't worry though. You'll get used to the feeling in time."

"If you say so." Issei said uneasily, staring up ahead at the church. Asia was in there and so would Amano- No, Raynare. Raynare would be there too waiting for him too but to kill him once again. Except this time, Issei wasn't going down without saving Asia first.

Kiba swung his sword against the lock on the church's fence gate and the three devils made a mad dash to the church's entrance. Without so much of a thought, Issei pulled his fist back to summon his Sacred Gear into reality and punched the wooden door right off its hinges.

The door fell to the ground with a massive thud and revealed a very familiar male sitting atop of the altar, a gleeful deranged smile on his face.

"Well well well~ Ain't this a good time for a reunion, eh you shitty devils?" Freed Sellzen the exorcist sneered down at them with a dangerous delight.

* * *

It's so dark.

He can't see a thing in front of him. That is, if there is even anything in front of him. His entire body feels like lead.

Is this the end?

"No, it is not."

He blinked. There was a ghost in front of him. At least he thinks it is. It's completely pale and featureless, save for the faint lines of a smirk on its blank face.

"Are you going to stop here?" It asked.

He doesn't reply and the ghost brings out a small rectangular device – his COMP. That's weird, he remembers having it elsewhere.

"Your answer?" The ghost asked him again. He shakes his head. The ghost's smirk grew wider and for a moment, he could see a pair of red eyes staring back at him. "Turn it on. They're waiting for you."

'Who is?' is the question on his mind but he can't bring himself to say it. He obeyed the ghost and switched it on.

 _HUMAN MASK DISABLED_

 _DEMON SUMMONING PROGRAM READY TO BOOT._

 _NOW BOOTING._

 ** _Peaceful days died._**

 ** _Let's Survive.__**

* * *

"Koneko!" Issei cried out frantically as he watched Raynare hurl several light spears at the Rook's direction.

Koneko shielded her face with her arms, reducing the amount of damage she received but her face was twisted in silent pain. Her clothes had torn where the light spears passed her, leaving her wounds exposed to the stinging air. The holiness that the church was permeated wasn't helping either, making the wound sting more in passing second.

They had been too late.

Raynare had extracted Twilight Healing from Asia, killing the nun in the process and was full on abusing the Sacred Gear's ability. For every blow Koneko and Issei inflicted on her, and the gashes Kiba's sword would leave on her skin, Raynare would call upon Twilight Healing's power and have her flesh reknitted every single time.

It was probably a good thing Raynare insisted on fighting them alone. Even Issei could tell that his friends would not be able to take on another Fallen Angel or three more in this case.

Issei cursed as he tapped into his Sacred Gear again, doubling his power once more before moving in to drive Raynare away from Koneko. "Get away from her!"

His punch was never enough though. Raynare easily took the blow and returned it in exchange. She quickly summoned one of her light spears and rammed it through one of Issei's thighs. Raynare let out a sadistic cackle while Issei screamed in pain.

"Issei!" Kiba exclaimed, momentarily taking his eyes off Freed to glance at the brunette.

"Oi, you shitty devil! Keep your fucking eyes on me or else you'll die!" Freed giggled madly, aiming his gun at the swordsman and fired.

Kiba hissed as he reacted by a few miliseconds too late, the bullet grazing his skin and hitting him with the Light. "Don't you worry, I don't plan on dying to you of all people anyway."

"Aw, feeling a bit confident there? That's what makes you fucking devils soooo annoying. I love putting hopeful pieces of shit like you down like the crap you are." Freed said, swinging his arm down and clashing blades with Kiba's sword.

Koneko gasped painfully as Raynare kicked her hard enough to send her flying in the air, landing in front of Issei in a bloodied mess. Her white hair was matted with blood, _her_ blood and it made Issei feel even worse than he was already.

"I-Issei…" The white haired devil whispered out so softly that Issei could've missed it. "S-Sorry…"

"No no, Koneko..!"

Tears were starting to trickle down his cheek. He screwed up. He didn't get to Asia fast enough to save her so she died from his mistake. Now he was going to get Koneko and Kiba killed because he made them babysit him for a mission Rias didn't approve one bit.

When he noticed Raynare approaching them, a light spear in hand, the brunette pulled Koneko into his arms and turned his body so that he'd shield his friend. He glared up hatefully at Raynare, teeth barred in aggression.

"Such resistance.. Oh why couldn't you be like this back then?" Raynare whispered ecstatically, only sadism evident on her face. "You would've made that date so much more enjoyable, instead of being killed just like that."

"You won't hurt her anymore, you bitch." Issei spat defiantly, holding Koneko closer to him. He would be damned if he let the Fallen touch his friend one more time.

"So futile… If it wasn't you devils, this scene would've been so much more heartwarming." The Fallen Angel sighed mockingly before grinning savagely and raised her light spear, "Oh well. All the more reason to end you here right here and now. Say goodbye to your life, worthless trash! Die for me!"

Issei's eyes shut tight and his body turned more to hide Koneko's body underneath his, awaiting for the fatal blow that'd end his second life. But it never came. Rather, something else did.

In a split second, the entire atmosphere had changed from being chaotic into downright pure dread. All fighters paused in their battles, anxiety and fear on their mind as a blue haired teen climbed up the stairs under the altar. Each step he took seemed to echo throughout the entire church, and further forcing all eyes to be focused on him.

"H-How..?" Miltelt said in hushed whispers, "I killed you..!"

The boy looked up to the blonde haired girl and at that very moment, Miltelt had wished she had kept her mouth shut. His eyes, they were so _dead_. Devoid of life, compassion, personality and humanity.

And his essence – was it the pure darkness that was practically originating from him?

"You're the one who stabbed me in the stomach." The teen pointed out and raised a fist in her direction. "It's only fair that I return the favour." The fist opened into a palm. "Maragiodyne."

Blazing flames engulfed the blonde Fallen Angel. She couldn't even scream as the spell disintergrated her on the spot, leaving not a single trace of her existence remaining.

"Miltelt!" Kalawarner shrieked in horror once her mind had processed what had occurred to her comrade. She glared down at the boy who stared listlessly back and summoned a light spear. "You will pay for Miltelt!"

Kalawarner threw the light spear, expecting it to drive through the boy's head and splatter his brain on the ground. No such thing happened. Someone else had intercepted the spear.

A dark green skinned male humanoid had grabbed the light spear. Two long horns protruded from his forehead, while long blonde locks flowed freely on the back of his head. A long white sash was the only thing that made the humanoid just barely modest.

He grinned wickedly and swiftly crushed the spear in its palm, the shattered specks of light fading in nothingness.

" **Well now what do we have here?** " He chuckled darkly, " **Three naughty children of the Light and three creatures of the night. What a scene we seem to have arrived to, hm?** "

"You don't seem all that surprised." The boy pointed out.

" **And neither do you.** " The creature countered, folding his arms and looking down at the three remaining Fallen Angels. During some time, the Fallen Angels had all landed on the ground, all with shock and fear showing on their face.

"W-What are you?" The trench coat one, Dohnaseek managed to find the courage to stammer out loud, sweat beading down his forehead. "No one can just brush off the Light like that! Not even us Angels!"

" **You mean the True Angels.** " The creature corrected mirthfully, " **You Fallens wield the tainted version of the Light, hence why you can injure even a Fallen Angel with a spear made by your kind. As for who I am…** " Two pair of wing began to unfurl from his back, stretching out and giving him an even more intimidating figure, " **I am a Tyrant far greater than all who claims to be so. I am the one who has crossed the paths of Heaven and Hell, and succumbed to neither.** "

Another two pair of wings appeared, eliciting gasps from all who saw.

 **"** **I have lived through the trial Heaven had set upon humanity on the seven days of Judgement and the day of the Choice.** "

A fifth set of wings had everyone staggering under the sight.

 **"** **I am Lucifer. And I serve the King of Bel until the seven days of Judgement is to occur once again.** "

The last pair of wings finally revealed itself, causing all of the Fallen Angels to pale in cold fear.

The blue haired teen briefly glanced at Issei, Koneko and Kiba before mouthing a single word.

 _Run._

" **Megidoladyne** **.** "

* * *

 _Inbox_

 _New Message_

 _Laplace Mail_

 _GooD moRning. Here iS today's NEWS._

 _Around 10:00 am, two new students will arrive in Kuoh Academy._

 _At around 11:45 am, the leaders of the Devils will arrive in Kuoh Academy to learn their place._

 _At around 2:00 pm, a civil war will occur in Kuoh. The cause is unknown._

 _Havvvvve_ _▉ nicE_ _DAy._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello, it's been a while hasn't it? I apologise for the extreme delay in delivering this chapter - ran out of ideas of how to proceed and then real life took over so frankly, I haven't been working on this as much as I could've.**

 **I would like to state that asking me to hurry with the next update would not encourage me to finish faster, instead it makes me do the exact opposite so kindly refrain from asking me to hasten the process or when the next update will be. Otherwise, thank you for your kind reviews, they've most certainly helped me push through the last bit when I reread them again.**

 **Replies will be done at the end of this chapter.**

* * *

If Kiba had to describe what he saw in the chapel, he would call it a slaughter.

When the monster spoke, Kiba could feel a massive surge of pure unadulterated power quickly building up within the chapel, gathering to a single spot above them all. There was so much that in fact, Kiba was having trouble breathing under the intensity. He could feel the power gradually slowing to a stop and something inside him screamed that he needed to run.

The swordsman turned to Issei urgently and yelled, "Issei, we need to move now!"

The brunette nodded, holding onto Koneko firmly before hurrying to the main doors of the chapel.

"Hey! Where the fuck do you think you shitty devils are going?!" Kiba heard Freed protest and just barely ducked in time to avoid a light infused bullet to the head.

The devils were barely out of the chapel when the power finally detonated, causing four powerful explosions that shook the entire church. They had not escaped unscathed either unfortunately.

Kiba's back lit up in searing pain as the intense energy lashed out at him, no doubt burning through the back of his shirt along with his skin.

Issei shrieked when his right leg was caught and was hurled outside from the brunt of the explosion. There was a sickening crack in the air as some of Issei's bones broke from the impact.

Koneko suffered the least damage of them all, having been shielded by Issei's battered body but she was still struck by some of the debris that was flung away by the blow.

It took a while for Kiba's ears to stop ringing from the powerful eruption and longer for him to look at the chapel to process what happened.

The church was gone, crumbled to the ground in shambles. Kiba would've been surprised if the building could take an explosion of that caliber, much less four of them too. He could see Freed laying on the ground, surrounded by a pool of his own blood.

The three Fallen Angels succumbed to kneeling just to stay upright. Their wings were smoking and rapidly losing the onyx feathers they bore, revealing raw red skin underneath. Though they were not in the same state as Freed was, the Fallen Angels were significantly injured by the spell that winged monster casted.

It called itself Lucifer. As in Lucifer, one of the Original Satans.

He fought down the shudder. He knew a Lucifer, but it wasn't the one that had brazenly announced itself before the Fallen Angels. The Lucifer he knew had hair as red and long as Rias, and never exuded the darkness that this monster did either.

" **Oh? It appears that you Fallens can take a blow after all.** " Lucifer observed as he gazed down at the three.

"S-Shut up..!" Raynare growled raggedly, panting heavily. "You… You can't possibly be him!"

" **Deny what you will but I assure you that I am Lucifer.** " Lucifer assured with a sinister smile, folding his arms.

"But.. The original Lucifer, he died back in the Great War." Kalawarner protested weakly.

" **Or so many believed.** "

The disbelief on the Fallen Angel's faces grew. "You... So all these centuries... After the Great War, you were actually alive all this time?"

Lucifer's grin only grew, which drove the Fallen Angels further into despair.

"That's… That's it. We're done for." Dohnaseek laughed brokenly, a mad smile on his face. "We can't possibly fight against the Morning Star. We're going to be destroyed and we can't do a thing about it."

"Shut up, shut up!" Raynare snapped, summoning several light spears and snarled.

She was exhausted. Even with Twilight Healing removing her wounds, it couldn't restore her energy and the spell that Lucifer casted had nearly robbed her of all of her stamina. It took everything she had to not crash on the ground.

Lucifer barely even blinked as the light spears smashed into him with a strength akin to a newborn kitten, even letting out a bored yawn once Raynare had exhausted all of the spears.

" **As... amusing as it has been to step into the Human World again, much less His territory, I'm afraid you have all outlived your usefulness.** " He pointed at Kalawarner, " **Maziodyne.** "

Lightning cackled and wracked through Kalawarner's body. An agonizing scream tore its way out of the Fallen Angel's throat but did nothing to save her. Raynare watched as the Fallen Angel's wings was reduced to its bare skin as her skin burned from the shock, all the way to Kalawarner being reduced to mere dust.

Dohnaseek was next. The same lightning tore its way into the male Fallen Angel and just like it did with Kalawarner, it fried him inside out. A broken cackle left Dohnaseek as his heart stopped beating and his skin breaking down to tiny charred pieces.

"Kalawarner! Dohnaseek!" Raynare screamed when she realized she was the only Fallen Angel left and frantically scanned the area around her. "Freed?!"

The human was nowhere in sight but Raynare had spotted the puddle of blood he had left behind.

" **So the human decides to abandon the Fallen Angel in time of need. What an ironic scene would you not agree, my lord?** " Lucifer chuckled darkly, looking down at the blue haired teen who stood beside him.

There was no verbal response from the teen but an amused smirk had taken its place on his face.

"You- How could you!?" Raynare wailed, pointing at Lucifer and the teen, "Murderer! Defiler! Demon!"

That was the last thing she said before Raynare's life force was ripped away from her being. Her essence was shredded and converted into fodder for the demon. The Fallen Angel was dead within seconds and fell to the ground as a lifeless husk.

Kazuya felt very drained.

His whole body was aching and raw, and it wasn't from being stabbed by the light spears either. Speaking of which, the wounds the spears had caused weren't there anymore. Did they heal at some point? If so, then he knows that he won't die from blood loss at least.

Kazuya could feel his legs finally giving out under him, muscles unable to sustain the energy needed to keep him upright.

" **It is good to fight for you again, overlord.** " Lucifer said to him with a nod.

Kazuya nodded numbly, trying to speak up but his tongue merely lolled around in his mouth. Why couldn't he get it working?

" **It seems that all those years of absence have decayed your strength. You are no longer able to sustain yourself in my presence at your current state. You've become weak.** " Lucifer lamented, inspecting Kazuya closely and clicked his tongue. " **This won't do at all.**

Right and Kazuya sure as hell hadn't exercised one day since the day he awoke. He hadn't felt the need to. The memories didn't exist back then, the ones that told him that he was horrifying weak and no more than a simple worm that even a Goblin could destroy. Unfitting for a king-

Kazuya shakes his head. King, what king? Not him certainly. He was a Lord. Overlord. There is a distinction between a King and an Overlord. No there isn't. They both rule over their loyal subjects, but he never lorded over people. No, he did that with the supernatural races.

He hissed under the strain of two conflicting sets of memories fighting over each other, vying for dominance and establishing his true identity. All Kazuya wanted was for the headache to stop. He needed a Dia or a… A something! Even human medicine or whatever it was that could make this stop.

" **Such a shame. I was hoping to explore humanity's realm once more but I will have to wait until you have restored your strength.** " Lucifer sighed, his form disappearing into black wisps. " **I expect you to return to your peak strength by the next time you've summoned me.** "

With that done, Kazuya promptly fell flat on his stomach and drifted off to a dream of a tower in a red sky.

* * *

When Rias was informed of Issei's plan to save the nun, she was hardly surprised.

Ever since Asia the nun had been taken away by Raynare, Issei had been restless. Nothing the members of her peerage said to him could make him settle. Not even Rias could make him settle down with her words, which miffed her slightly.

When his patience finally wore thin enough, Issei finally took off to track down the lost nun although not before both Koneko and Kiba demanded to follow him to ensure that their newest peerage member didn't die.

In the end, it was his loyalty for his friends that won over the desire to obey. Something that Rias outright admired along with the boundless amount of courage that the brunette seemed to possess.

It had been one of the reason she was looking into resurrecting Issei, aside from his Sacred Gear because such loyalty was rare among the living.

Rias and Akeno made their move once they felt the spike of Light in Kuoh, now aware of where the rest of her Peerage were doing battle.

Neither of them knew what to say when they finally arrived to the church or at least what was left of it.

The chapel had been razed to the ground, not a single pillar left standing upright. Statues of what used to be angels were nothing more than pieces of pebbles. The pews that once occupied the hall were scattered haphazardly, most of them broken in splinters and few in large pieces.

"R-Rias." The red haired devil immediately snapped her head to the direction of the voice.

Issei and Kiba were lying on the ground, not too far away from the wreckage. Koneko was cradled in the Pawn's arms, being as still as she could to prevent further agitation to her wounds. Rias could see several injuries decorating her subordinates and felt her jaw tighten in silent anger.

Rias walked up to Kiba who seemed the least injured out of the three. "What happened here?"

Kiba mulled over his thoughts, stringing together an appropriate answer for his King and pointed at a figure who laid on the floor in the center of the wreckage, "He happened."

Rias trailed her eyes to where Kiba was pointing and gasped softly. She recognized him from the photos Sirzech had sent her, along with letters of severe warning to avoid contact with him at all cost.

She had disobeyed her brother only once to get a feel of the male's essence, curiosity demanding her to know exactly what about the boy had gotten her brother so worried. He had felt human back then.

Now, not a single shred of humanity's essence lingered in him. All that was left was the wicked darkness that practically embraced him, encompassing him like a mantle.

"Rias." Akeno's call brought the red haired devil back to reality. "It would appear that your brother is here."

Wait, what?

"Hello Rias, Akeno." Sirzech greeted the two devils with a smile that did not quite reach his cheeks. Behind him were Ajuka, Serfall and Falbium. None of them looked happy to be here.

Rias felt her eyes widen in puzzlement, "Why are all of the Four Great Satans here?"

"Why, can't we be here?" Sirzech asked back amusedly but nothing about it was funny. When he saw the unamused look on his sister's face, he caved in. "We are here for the Fallen's prisoner. It is of utmost importance that we retrieve him before anyone gets hurt."

"Something that we are apparently late for." Falbium observed, glancing at the destroyed church and sighed, "… I mean, if that wreckage isn't enough of a clue already."

"Now that you know why we're here, what about you Rias? Why are you here?" Serafall asked inquisitively.

"To rescue my peerage of course." Rias answered, gesturing to Kiba and Issei. "My new Pawn ran off to save a girl that the Fallen had kidnapped."

At mentioning this, the red haired devil frowned and turned to look at Kiba. "Issei, where is your friend?"

Issei blinked and gasped in shock, snapping his head back at the wreckage. "Asia!"

He laid Koneko down gently on the ground before rushing to the ruins, specifically to where the altar once stood with Asia chained to the cross. Issei let out a broken sob when he finally found her burnt, charred corpse.

Not one bit of Asia was spared, her once beautiful golden hair seared to a charcoal black, skin flayed from the explosions brought by the fight and her beauty forever marred by the power summoned by that stranger.

If the wound of seeing Asia dying before them wasn't deep enough already, seeing her body desecrated beyond recognition just doused the wound in salt. Very painful.

"She was already dead when we finally found her." Kiba said softly with a somber tone as they watched Issei grieve over his friend. "Her Sacred Gear had been extracted by the Fallen Angel."

Rias had to take in a deep breath before asking quietly, "Where is that Fallen Angel now?"

Kiba bit his lips anxiously and pointed at the body near the blue haired teen's. "Over there. I don't know what he did however."

Ajuka knelt down next to the Fallen Angel's corpse, his face twisting to a shocked frown. "He drained her essence. Took it all away until none of it was left for her."

"Only vampires can drain the essence of other races but even they cannot complete deplete a supernatural of their essence..." Akeno pointed out, staring at the blue haired boy.

"For even the highest class vampire in the Underworld, to deprive a supernatural of their energy is difficult to do, mostly because of the balance of power will be disrupted from the influx, likely destroying the vampire in the process." Ajuka explained, examining the Fallen Angel closer with narrowed eyes.

"But the boy that the Fallen Angels had foolishly taken as a mere prisoner? It would be no more than a simple tug of power until he gains it all."

The devil glanced down to the silver rings that adorned her fingers and slipped them off.

"Here, I believe these belong to your friend." Ajuka said, tossing the Sacred Gear to Rias. The male devil turned to look at the rest of the Four Satans. "I'm sure you know this now, but we have a situation on our hand."

"Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious when we can all feel it from here." Albium replied dryly.

"Our spies reported that he was still human when they were observing him." Serafall raised a brow puzzledly. "Even for someone like him, it shouldn't have been possible to hide like that."

"He didn't, remember?" Sirzech reminded Serafall, "He couldn't hide all of himself. We could feel him back then as well, though it was very faint."

Sirzech sighed, his shoulders sagging and turned to look at Rias. His sister knew the look he had on him. The only time he wore such an expression was when something significantly trouble has come up.

"Rias, I know you want to know what is going on right now, but I promise I will explain it all later. For now, we need to get him to the Underworld. Far from the Angels." Sirzech said hurriedly, hauling the blue haired boy's arm around his shoulder and making his way to leave the church.

"Brother wait-!" Rias cried out but the Four Satans had all left along with Sirzech, leaving Rias to her injured peerage and her weeping Pawn.

The red haired devil glanced down at the rings in her palm, identifying it as the Sacred Gear Twilight Healing and turned around to reincarnate her another member of her peerage.

* * *

Kazuya was getting real tired of waking up in unfamiliar environments with little to no idea of how he had gotten to said place.

First the hospital, then that underground room where he was stabbed in the stomach by someone – a Fallen Angel he remembers – and now finally, in some room he didn't stay for long in.

The moment he had woken up, a grey haired woman practically dragged him out and took him to an entirely different room.

At least he still had his headphones. Kazuya idly noted that his clothes were perfectly fine too, he was certain that they had torn yesterday.

The blue haired teen couldn't find his COMP though. Did someone take it?

The room was huge, it was spacious and there was a big round table at the center.

"Please take a seat and wait here. My master will be joining you shortly." The grey haired woman said to him before disappearing just as quickly as she appeared.

Kazuya frowned as he took his seat and looked around the room. He didn't know there was a building like this in Kuoh. He paused before doing a double take.

Kuoh didn't feel like this. Whereas Kuoh felt like it was constantly moving, the place he was felt foreboding and dark. Almost intimately familiar in fact.

"We apologize for the wait."

Two men walked into the room. The maid followed them in but stopped near the door. Kazuya scanned the men in the room. One was a red haired and the other, a man with black hair yet had blonde bangs.

"Damn. When you said that the Overlord had returned, I did not expect a kid to be the one." The man with black and gold hair said, surprise and shock in his eyes. "Then again, kids these days seem to be the holders of almighty powers nowadays."

"He didn't look like a child back then. He was much more intimidating." The red haired man reminded with an amused chuckle. "All he's missing is his horns and the cape he wore."

He paused to sneak a glimpse at Kazuya and shook his head. "Or his horns turned into those nice pair of headphones he's got. Speaking of which, where'd you get them? They fit you nicely. Goes with the whole demonic look there."

The tease in his tone was very obvious and Kazuya had half the mind to tell the man to shut up.

"I don't know." Kazuya shrugged in response, unconsciously adjusting his headphone over his ears. "Found them along with everything else I have on me." He narrowed his eyes at the two men. "Did you take my COMP?"

"I didn't break it, don't worry." The man with the black and gold hair assured, pulling out Kazuya's COMP from his red coat and sliding it back to its true owner.

As Kazuya inspects the device for any potential damage, the man continued on. "You don't see this device as often anymore today, so I was curious about what was on yours."

Seeing that there was no external hardware damage, Kazuya booted up the COMP's system.

He noticed that there were two extra applications installed: The Demon Summoning Program and the Demonic Compendium. There was another app, but it had been greyed out, and Kazuya couldn't access it at all.

"… You guys were watching me, weren't you." Kazuya said quietly, his eyes leaving the screen to stare at the two men. "The Fallens – they said that the Devils were watching me."

"They were right. We were indeed watching you." The red haired man nodded, "You're more dangerous than you realise. Had we not removed you from the Heaven's territory earlier, Micheal himself would've descended to smite you on the spot."

"Micheal?" Kazuya repeated inquisitively, "He sounds familiar."

"He was one of Father's first creation and the leader of the Angels." The multicolor haired man explained, sighing loudly, "… And one of your top enemies. He wouldn't hesitate to remove you on the spot if he detected you on holy land."

That just… Brought another question. One that he should've asked since he saw them but had somehow forgotten about. "If we aren't there, then where are we?"

"How strange. Considering the place we are at, I would've believed that you of all demons would recognize it." The red haired man mused strangely, a puzzled frown setting on his face, "Do you not recognize your old domain, King of Bel?"

… Ah.

So that was what he was forgetting.

* * *

The next morning, Rias had ordered everyone to arrive in the club room early in the morning. None of them needed to ask why, excluding Asia, their new Bishop and Koneko who had no idea what had happened after she fell unconscious yesterday.

Issei had been ecstatic when Asia was reincarnated with her Sacred Gear, and the former nun shared his joyful happiness.

Issei had followed through with his promise, even though she had lost her humanity in exchange for living a second life. It had bothered her initially, but the relief she saw on Issei's face when she was well enough to move – how could she be not grateful for Issei's help?

Especially his concerns for her wellbeing when she was dead.

Words could not express the gratefulness she had for her King and her Lord, even if she could no longer pray to the latter without suffering migraines for treading on holy grounds. If it weren't for either, she would not be together with Issei and his wonderful friends anymore.

Speaking of his friends, they were all gathered in the club room with grim looks on their faces.

"Um," Asia mumbled, glancing at Issei questioningly, "I've been wondering, what are we meeting for?"

"You don't know?" Issei asked puzzledly before slapping a hand over his forehead, "Shit, right. You weren't ali- around when it happened."

"As Issei said, I've called you together to discuss about yesterday's event." Rias said sternly, folding her legs, "As Akeno and I had arrived late to scene and my brother has yet to explain to me what has happened to the stranger, we lack the necessary information to understand the situation."

She pointedly looked at her Pawn and Knight, "Issei and Kiba, since you two were able to remain conscious during the whole ordeal, tell us what happened at the church. Start from the beginning when you had first arrived."

"I'll go first." Said Kiba, sitting up straighter as he recalled the church, "When Koneko, Issei and I had arrived at the church, we had been too late to rescue Asia as the Fallen had already managed to extract her Sacred Gear through a ritual. I suspect it's one of ancient magic. We engaged in combat with the Fallen Angel's ringleader at the time-"

"Raynare, the bitch who killed me." Issei muttered hatefully, glaring daggers at the table.

"- Who claimed ownership over Twilight Healing and used it against us." Kiba continued on as if Issei hadn't said anything, "It wasn't an easy battle for them. I was put against the exorcist, Freed Sellzen who prevented me from joining Koneko and Issei."

"Damn, the Church was on it too?"

"Doubt it. From what I could gain from Freed's rambling was that he was acting alone. It's likely he's a stray, considering his barbaric behavior." Kiba shook his head and shivered as he continued on.

"Then all out of nowhere, the whole place… It just became so wrong. Being in the church was harming enough but the sensation we felt was far worse than being poured in holy water."

"It was like something was sucking the oxygen out of the air, weighing us down like lead and gradually suffocating us all indiscriminately. It wasn't until he came that we could breathe easier, but the dread didn't disappear." The Knight rambled.

"This guy was literally Darkness. It came off from him like power, an aura you can't hide away from no matter what you did. And his eyes Rias – there was nothing in it. Everything has a bit of life in them, something to indicate they're alive. This guy? You couldn't tell what he was thinking unless you really tried to pry into his mind, and I've no doubt whatever is in his head will traumatize anyone with a first glance."

"He killed one of the Fallen Angel with a spell for fire, I think. Something about being stabbed in the stomach and returning the favor." Issei stepped in when he noticed Kiba was shaking slightly.

"The guy in the trench coat tried to stab the guy too, but then something else appeared. It was huge and green. Mostly naked too. It was really strong too. It just took the Fallen Angel's light spear and crushed it in its hand like nothing. Rias, do you think I could do that one day?"

"Probably not since you are a Devil, and we Devils are easily harmed by constructs of the Light." Rias shook her head, "Back to the subject, what about this thing that made it powerful?"

"This thing had six wings, Rias. Six Devil wings. If that doesn't say enough, it literally summoned a ball of nothing but power, and bombed the Church to nothing with it. Even when Issei, Koneko and I were outside of the building by the time the bomb detonated, we were still affected by the blast radius and barely survived the fallout." Kiba explained, holding up six fingers.

Rias paled at hearing Kiba's description of the entity that had arrived with the stranger. Six wings meant a high class Devils or worse, an Ultimate Class Devil.

However, Rias didn't know of another Devils that matched Kiba's description.

"When we arrived, we didn't see any other devils. Did this one leave?"

Issei nodded, "Yeah. It kind of faded away in a burst of light. Like poof."

"Rias, there's another thing you need to know," Kiba interjected worriedly, "When the devil first appeared, he called himself Lucifer. As in, one of the Original Satans, not the title your brother has."

"That's impossible. All of the Original Satans died in the Great War that happened millennia ago." Rias denied, shook her head.

"That's what the Fallen Angel had told him as well but the devil said, and I quote: 'Or so many believed'." Kiba argued. "Look, I don't know for sure if the guy was bluffing or not, but he definitely had the power to back up his claims. He might even be as strong as your brother, if not, stronger."

"Then there's the prisoner who joined us." Issei added, frowning. "I don't really remember most of the mumbo jumbo that this Lucifer guy said, but he said something about seven days of judgement and a king. King of bells or something like that."

"King of bells…?" Rias' eyes widened in realization, "It can't be…!"

"Rias? Is something the matter?" Akeno asked, concern in her voice.

"If what Issei heard was right," Rias said slowly, licking her lips nervously, "There is the possibility that a second Great War will break out soon. That is, if the King of Bel has truly returned."

* * *

"Those are the rules you must follow while attending Kuoh Academy. Should you be caught breaking any of these rules-"

"We'll get in trouble and receive punishment appropriate to what we have done, right?" A male teenager wearing a white cap grinned cheekily, "School's the same no matter where we go, huh?"

"Of course, things would be like that." A red haired girl huffed, crossing her arms, "Besides, if you think the school's going to punish you badly, wait until I get my hands on you."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He laughed, "At least, not until we find him. It's been too long since we've last seen him."

"Yeah, it really has been." The girl sighed contentedly, "Do you think he remembers us?"

"Of course, he would, Yoohoo." The boy affirmed confidently, "We stood by his side to hell and back, quite literally too, and we even promised to meet up again one day. You of all people know how far he'll go to uphold a promise, even if it meant to break a seal from God."

* * *

Freed was shaking. He was mad- no, mad wouldn't justify the shaking mess he was.

He was livid, furious, outraged but most of all, _delighted._

That boy, so pathetically weak in appearance but that oh so delicious Darkness that practically reeked from his mortal shell-

It was delicious.

It was extravagant.

It was so much more pleasurable than the measly Light that he utilized as a weapon.

Freed wanted more.

The Church called him a monster; a disgusting savage for indulging in his own pleasure.

But what was so wrong with that?

Especially with the tantalizing Darkness that beckoned to him so much, promising blood and hate to be shed with each battle that would come.

And for every battle that would come in the future, it would eventually lead to the world being Purified.

A new start for an already disgusting world riddled with the wretched demons, and all it needed was many bodies to carry out the Darkness.

And Freed knew exactly where to get those bodies.

* * *

 _Inbox_

 _New Message_

 _Laplace Mail_

 _GGGGGGood morning. Here is todday's NEWS._

 _At #!:$0 in Kuoh, a fated reunion will take place._

▉▉ _ve a N_ _ce day._

* * *

 **Replies:**

 **Saruq: Asia converting sounds like a fun idea. Sad that I don't know how to implement it.**

 **InfernoKnightmare: Not only Lucifer, so many more are going to return.**

 **LuciferXIII Trollkaiger Green: Perhaps, but overkill is always the best first impression. Befitting for a demon overlord, yes?**

 **Ball: Lucky that Lucifer will have to be restricted for now, as well as many other powerful Bel Demon.**

 **Overlord Laharl: I'd answer how but I'm afraid I forgot the answer myself.**

 **Insane Wombat: Hell yes. Deep Darkness is good theme.**

 **Avarize: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**


	4. Author's Note: Misconceptions

**A/N:**

 **Hello, I bet you're disappointed this isn't a proper update to the stories and instead a measly author's note that could've been saved onto the next chapter when I finish it, yes? I hate this sort of update as well, believe me, I would've preferred saving this discussion at another time. However, due to the accumulating complaints regarding Kazuya's powers, I feel like this would be beneficial.**

 **Regarding the concerns of Kazuya being 'nerfed', I'm afraid that you have all misunderstood the situation with Kazuya's strength. Lucifer only stated that Kazuya wasn't able to withstand Lucifer's presence at his current state, which I should remind, he had been injured before his kidnapping and was struck by light spears which are HARMFUL to creatures of the underworld. And he hadn't used his own strength for a very long time.**

 **I know how misleading Lucifer's statement was, but it is actually meant to be taken as quite literal.**

 **I'll assure you that Kazuya won't be back to square one - it was never my intention to do so. However, absence results in deterioration and Kazuya has most certainly been absent for a very long time. Nothing is safe from time as you should all know.**

 **Another concern with Kazuya gaining the power of Destruction, I am still debating whether or not if he should have that ability. On one hand, it'd be pretty cool if he had more destructive powers in his arsenal but on the other, it would contradict with the Gremory clan's existence and by extension, Rias herself.**

 **To InfernoKnightmare: No, the COMPs are not widespread. At least, not yet. After all, there's a mystery of where did all the demons that Kazuya commanded go.**

 **A final reminder to the readers: Laplace is not a case of characters crossing through dimensions and ending up in a world they do not belong. I am integrating both series into a single world, so not everything will follow according to each individual's law, as Mrcrazyman94 correctly noted. Kudos to you man.**

 **Now that this has been said, please stop complaining about Kazuya's strength. Frankly, I'm actually annoyed that you lot mostly paid attention to Kazuya's power and ignored the suggestions behind his state. I didn't even make it that subtle.**


End file.
